


Shoes That Don't Fit

by 1000PaperCranes



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: And Enemies, Background Criminal Investigation, Disaster Strikes, Disrespect, Emotional support animal, Episode Tag, Episode: s04e24 Family Business, Gen, Headcanon, Headcanon Backstory, Kade Burns Has A Heart, Kade Burns Has Friends, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, No Beta: We die like mne, Phone Calls, Rescue Mission Failure, Responsibility, Things Go Wrong, With Siblings Like These Who Needs Enemies?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-01-05 11:20:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18364976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1000PaperCranes/pseuds/1000PaperCranes
Summary: With Charlie Burns out of commission, things don't go so well for Kade.  Or anyone.





	1. Chapter 1

Heatwave and the team _dreaded_ the next six weeks.  With Kade in charge in the field, rescues were going to be twice as hard.  As terrifying as it had been, and as good as it was to know the Chief wasn’t seriously injured, it was six times worse than what they had been facing twenty-four hours ago.  A disaster in its own right.

Chase was watching the injured chief and his oldest son curiously.  Heatwave paid a little more attention.

“Alright,” Charlie maneuvered his chair a little closer.  “Remember, your job isn’t just to boss your siblings around.”  He reached up straightening Kade’s collar and adding a pin.  “You also have to wrangle Barney.”

The two chuckled, but Kade’s smile quickly faded.  “Are you sure you don’t want to take him with you?”

Charlie shook his head.  “You’ll need the help.  Barney is perfectly capable of minding the jail and distracting Mrs. Neederlander until Mr. Pettypaws decides to come down from his tree.”

“She doesn’t call us for that anymore.”  Kade patted down the legs of his pants, looking progressively more unsure.

“That’s because I gave her Barney’s number.”

A small laugh punched through Kade’s distress.  “I’m not ready for this, Dad.”

“Sure, you are.  You’re trained and qualified, you have good instincts.  Griffin Rock is like Mulberry, good people making mistakes.  Don’t get carried away and everything will be fine.”

“I know, I know.”  Kade fingered the creases in his uniform, pulling them straight and tucking his shirt in more deeply.  “I just… _Ugh_.”  Kade hung his head, squeezing his back pockets.

“What are you missing?” Charlie asked, looking Kade over carefully.

“Insulation.”  Kade met his father’s eyes.  “Can I at least wear my bunker pants and boots?  I feel like Creepy Silent Myles is going to jump out of a bush and hamstring me.”

The Chief laughed.  He buried his grin in one hand, trying to seem less amused.

“Not funny, Dad.”

“Yes, it is.”  Charlie grinned up at his son.  “You’re funny, Kade, when you don’t try so hard.”

“Yeah, I’m a lot of things when I don’t try so hard.”

Charlie smiled strangely, as if he couldn’t tell how self-depreciating that statement was intended to be.  “Let’s try it with the bunkers.  Just, tuck in your suspenders.”

“Why?” Kade asked, quickly toeing off his polished, black shoes.

“If you wear them properly, they’ll cover your badge, and letting them hang is too enticing.”

Kade disappeared into the gear room, rummaging for a long minute.  He returned with a heavy bundle of black fabric with rubber soles.  Kade stepped into his steel shanks with a sigh, tugging the new overpants on with a look of disproportionate relief.  He considered the wide red suspenders.  “I suppose I don’t need to be giving drunk people hand holds.”

“No.”  Charlie tried to smother a grin, but just wound up looking smarmy.  “But not what I meant.”

“That’s not a real thing, outside of calendars and smut.”

“Was for your mom.”

Kade’s head snapped up from where he was carefully tucking away his suspenders.  His eyes were sharp with curiosity.  “Mom?”

“Yep.”  Charlie nodded to himself, satisfied.  “That’s why I got my fire one.  To impress your mother.”

“Yeah?” Kade licked his lips, apparently hungry for any information about the Burns matriarch.

Charlie grinned.  “You look just like her.”

Kade scoffed.  “Mom was pretty.  And a mechanic.”  He looked down at himself.  “I’m just a schmuck in Nomex.”

Heatwave boggled.  Kade was always so… cocky.  The man never doubted himself.  But the Chief didn’t look surprised. 

“You’re a good person who learns from his mistakes.”  Charlie gestured his son closer.  He took both of Kade’s hands, pulling his son down to eye level.  “You’re a red head with a heart of gold.  You are capable of so much more than anyone gives you credit for.  You don’t back down and you don’t give up.”  He paused until Kade swallowed hard and reluctantly nodded.  “You are _exactly_ like your mother, freckles and all.”

Kade blinked very quickly and walked away.  He paced aimlessly for several minutes.  When he stopped and looked at the ceiling, the Chief assured him, “You can do this.”

Kade looked at him upside down, then spun around, coming closer once again.  “Yeah.  Okay.”  He took a deep breath and sighed, hanging his head for a moment.  “Alright,” he declared more enthusiastically.  “Heatwave or Chase?”

Chief Burns raised a brow but did not comment on the lingering nerves in his son’s voice.  “Chase, I think.”

“Right.”  Kade leaned down, pressing his forehead to his father’s.  He whispered, “I love you, Dad.”

Kade straightened, trying to look proud and confident as he approached Chase.  It very nearly worked, but now Heatwave could see the cracks in his armor.

“Chase?”  Kade stopped without touching.  “Do you mind?”

“Or course not.”  He opened his door, welcoming Kade behind his wheel.

Heatwave watched them drive off.  “Are you sure about this, Chief?”

“Very.”


	2. Chapter 2

The Chief’s confidence may have been misplaced.  Not because there was anything wrong with Kade, but because his siblings did not respect him.  Kade had spent the morning enforcing Griffin Rock’s laws with moderation and grace.  It had truly surprised Chase, despite his expectations having been absolutely shattered as he had watched his partner prepare his son for the day.  Kade had been genuinely vulnerable and had yet to completely recover.

It had been strange to observe Kade’s measured steps as he approached Giles West – eventually arresting the man and handing him off to Barney for holding – knowing redhead doubted his own abilities but appeared perfectly poised.  Kade had walked out of the police station wiping off fingerprinting ink.  He had flopped into Chase’s front seat with a heavy sigh.  He had not spoken or moved, except to continue scrubbing the black from his fingers.  Chase had eventually pulled back onto the street, unwilling to simply sit and wait.

He had driven them through the streets of Griffin Rock, patrolling for new offenses.  Suddenly, Kade had looked up from his hands, right into Chase’s optics.

“I hate this part,” he’d said.  “Locking up people that aren’t dangerous.”

“Giles West elected to break the law and ignore several summonses to resolve the issue.  It is your job to arrest him.”  Chase did not understand Kade’s turmoil.  The Chief clearly did not like that aspect of his job but was certainly not distressed by it. 

Kade finally tucked the dried out towelette into his pocket.  “I know.”  Kade sighed, looking out the window.  “But it’s such a waste.  The guy can’t afford a lawyer.  He’s stopped selling pot.  I don’t even really care that he was, but some pantywaist in 1963 decided smoking yourself into a severe case of the munchies was worse than meth.  And now I have to ruin this poor guy’s life because he was selling off his medical stash, trading his pain relief for money, to get his car fixed.”

Chase had puzzled over the information.  Human laws had great complexity, especially in their creation.  This one also frustrated the Chief, who routinely refused to enforce possession charges, opting instead to simply confiscate the contraband.  “I mean, he was selling it to _Milo_.”  Kade had thumped his head on the back of his hands on the steering wheel.  “And apparently offered some to Corporal Hamstead on the ferry a few months back.”

“I have not met Corporal Hamstead.”

“Be glad.”  Kade had once again captured Chase’s gaze.  “The guy’s a menace.  He’s a corporal because he’s been demoted twice for disobeying directives.  It’s all still legal; he’s enforcing laws to the letter, but that isn’t good for anyone.  The Sheriff is chewing on his hat waiting for this guy to make a mistake, break any rule, reg, or law.”  Kade had sighed, gnawing on a stained thumb.  “I might have to go get myself punched.”

“Excuse me?”  Chase was shocked to hear anyone propose such a thing.  He must have heard wrong.

“Oh, I can do it.  I’m annoying.”  Kade wrapped his hand around Chase’s gear shift, somehow reassuring them both.  “I’ve gotten Graham to punch me, and he’s a wuss.  I bet I could even get Cody to punch me, seriously try to break my nose, and he’s _NICE_.”  Chase had been torn between laughter and skepticism.  He had opted to not to respond.  “Dad’ll be _so_ pissed, but it would be worth it.”

They had then pulled over two speeders.  Kade switched back on his veneer of competence in the time it took to stand up.  He had let the first car, registered to Deondre White, leave with his second moving violation in six years.  Kade had then ushered Don Midoriyama from his orange car.  He handcuffed the man and frisked him, then unceremoniously deposited him in Chase’s back seat.

“Don’t move, Chase,” he had ordered.  “We need to wait for Edgar to get here with the tow truck.”  Had then turned around in his seat, spearing Don with a disapproving stare.  “Don, this has got to stop.  I don’t care if you gave mustache rides to Mariann Munrow.  I don’t _care_.  You are too old for this.  And if I’m smart enough to drive the speed limit and watch the road, so are you.  It’s not hard.  I’m impounding your car and suspending your license.  No motorcycle, no borrowing a car, no driving of any kind.  Maybe six weeks of walking will slow you down.  You are not under arrest now, but I _will_ arrest you if I find you behind the controls of a motor vehicle.  Am I clear?”

Don had swallowed nervously and nodded.

“Out loud, please,” Kade had said, his patience clearly worn thin.  “Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Don had said meekly, applying the same dejected face he used on Chief Burns. 

Kade had not been similarly appeased.  “Good.”  He had turned and faced front, his hands squeezing cathartically on Chase’s steering wheel.  The police car had done his best not to wince or protest.  Their human partners occasionally did such things by mistake.  Kade’s eyes had been shut tight and it appeared his whole body had been clenched.  Suddenly he had let go, dropping his hands to fist in his pantlegs. 

When Kade had opened his eyes and looked up, he had groaned.

“Problem Ocifer?” Don had asked from the back seat, showing a side Chase had never seen before.

“That’s Lieutenant Ocifer to you,” Kade had replied without looking at his detainee.  Kade had opened the door and stood up on one foot, the other still in the car in much the same way Chief Burns often did when hoping to quickly escape a situation.  I worked for neither of them.  “Barney!  What are you doing here?”

The beguiling man had jumped from his hokey police cruiser.  “Just thought I would come up and help. What with two vehicles involved, ‘n’ all.”

Kade had groaned, stepping fully from the vehicle and pushing lightly on Chase’s door to indicate he wanted it closed.  Chase obliged, watching the two officers curiously.

“I’ve got it, Barn.”  Kade place himself between the deputy and Don’s car.  “Why don’t you fill out the paperwork and give Don a ride home?”

“Why?”

“I suspended his license, Barney.  That means one of us _has_ to drive him home.  You do that, and I’ll take care of the inventory.”  Kade had pointed the skinny man towards Chase and had then began searching the orange car, studiously ignoring Barney.  When the deputy had finally begun inserting Don into his vehicle, Kade had turned his head, watching with a shrewd squint.  The patrol car had peeled away, prompting Kade to hang his head in exasperation.  Several minutes later the _Lieutenant_ – who knew? – had returned to Chase.

“Inventory before impound; now I know why Dad hates it.  That guy is disgusting.”  Sarcasm had then crept onto his face.  “Hope he doesn’t mind that I didn’t count the _piles of petrified French fries_.”

Chase had elected not to point out the state of Heatwave’s cab, somehow sure there was something very complicated about the young man’s apparent disregard for escaped popcorn kernels.  Though it was equally plausible ‘piles’ was not an exaggeration.

“I’m sorry, Chase.”  Kade’s sincere apology had pulled Chase out of his musings.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”  His hands danced soothingly over Chase’s steering wheel, physically manifesting his remorse.  “I didn’t forget you were you, just that your steering wheel isn’t just a steering wheel.”

“Apology accepted.”

Kade had eaten lunch leaning against Chase’s front tire, chatting to him about anything the police bot could think to ask.  He had gamely explained the rationale behind each of his decisions, broken down several sports into simple terms, and recited the Emancipation Proclamation.  The last had seemed strange but Chase had reminded himself that humans were Children of Unicron, unpredictable.

The afternoon had started off well.  They had broken up a fight between two absolutely enraged teenage girls and successfully punished them by calling their parents, who arrived just in time to save Kade from being molested by the high school seniors.  “Oh, gross,” Kade had complained after he once again dropped into Chase’s front seat.  “Kill me if that is ever anything less than repulsive, okay?”  Chase had agreed and filed away the conversation for the Chief’s input; the most prudent move would be to divert Kade’s attention.  Abandoning the usual patrol, Chase had driven them out to Blossom Vale.  Kade had stood in the sea breeze for twenty minutes before their current call had come in.  He had seemed somewhat more collected as they raced up Mount Griffin.

Yet another new side to Kade emerged.  Chase watched with increasing concern as the Lieutenant attempted to coordinate the rescue.

 “Dani, Blades: I need you to–”

“ _Get water.  We know what we’re doing, Kade_.”  Dani cut the transmission

Kade watched the helicopter fly overhead, holding his hands out in an unconscious gesture of helplessness.  “Or that.”  Pushing his fingers into his hair, Kade surveyed the scene, quickly remaking his plan.  “Boulder, Graham: make a firebreak–"

“ _Between the campground and the fire, we know._ ”

 “NOT HELPFUL!”  He shouted at them without keying his commlink.  “That’s the _trailing_ edge!  The fire is running _uphill_!  We need to get to those hikers!”

“Is there something I may do to assist you?” Chase queried.

Kade looked up over his shoulder.  “Thanks for asking.”  He closed his eyes for a moment.  Chase could see them flicking under the lids as he considered his options.  “Well, Heatwave didn’t even _answer_ me.”  He opened his eyes.  “How much heat can you take?”

Chase knew what he was being asked.  He calculated the fasted route to the hikers.  “I can do it.”

“Whatever you just calculated, double it and add ten.”

Chase snorted, then smiled down at the human.  “It will be close, but I can make it.”  Probably.  Definitely, if Heatwave showed up to help them.  Kade quickly hopped into Chase’s cab.  “Run, please.  And don’t mind me.”

What?  Chase checked his cab as he sprinted off.  Kade was pulling off clothes.  “What is the purpose of this?”

“I was supposed to switch back to Heatwave if there was a fire.  My uniform is old, and the fabric will melt if exposed to too much heat.  I’d rather be burnt than shrink wrapped.”  Then Kade mumbled to himself, “Might as well loose these while I’m here.”  He kicked off his black pants, the constant jolting of Chase’s cab not even seeming to register.  Kade turned his bunker pants inside out, detaching the thick quilted lining.  He righted them and put them back on with the suspenders covering his red spots.  “Take a right, we should approach them from below.”  Kade looked over Chase’s cab.  “Primus, I wish I had tools.”

When they reached the hikers; the man was staggering badly, and the woman was unconscious on the ground.  They were surrounded by flame, it swirled overhead, burning the tops of trees ahead of the underbrush.  Chase transformed and let him out, nearly recoiling into bot mode at the rush of burning air over his internals.

“Over here!” Kade screamed, barely audible over the sound of the inferno.  He darted forward, grabbing the man.

“My wife!” he protested.

“I’ll get her!  Get in the car!”

“Car?  Where?”

“Can you see?” Kade shouted as he pulled the man towards Chase.

“No!”  The man stumbled and Kade picked him up.  He dumped the man into Chase’s passenger seat like a side of beef.  Then he went back for the wife.  He returned, woman in his arms, as flames began to lick at Chase’s bumper.  Kade dove inside, the woman landing half in the back seat.  Kade ignored it, twisting around and pulling the door shut with all his strength, almost before his feet were clear.

Kade made a circular gesture from his mouth to his chest, eyes wide with panic.  Taking his best guess, Chase flushed the air from his cab, replacing it with his own metabolic products.  Which humans could apparently breathe, if Kade’s hugely gasping breaths and the awkward kiss he gave Chase’s display were any indication.

“Oh, man, another second and I’d have pissed myself.”

“Are you exaggerating?”  Chase asked, transforming.

“Nope,” Kade admitted, still gulping in great lungfuls of nitrogen and trioxygen.  His lips were turning blue.

“Kade, do humans not breathe nitrogen?”

“Oxygen,” he gasped.  Chase’s cab was currently 10% dioxygen and 30% trioxygen.  He reported as much to Kade.  “Dioxygen,” Kade specified, sounding faint, “20 percent.”  Chase continued to run and quickly found that he was able to synthesize additional dioxygen from the smoke surrounding them.  Kade began clawing at his chest before fully regaining his senses.

Chase accessed the comms.  “Dani.  We have rescued the hikers, but Kade returned to my cab unable to breathe.  The environment is inhospitable to respiration, but I have managed to provide him with twenty percent oxygen.  He now appears to be in great pain.”

There was a pause, which Chase assumed to be emotional.  “He must have an airway burn.  There’s nothing you can do Chase.”

“Ozone!” Kade gasped, smacking at Chase’s dash.  Apparently, he had not heard the fireman.  “Trioxygen.  Get rid of it.”

Chase adjusted the mix as quickly as possible. 

Slowly, Kade’s lips began to look less blue.  After several minutes, he keyed the commlink, rasping, “Thanks a lot, Dani.  Put out the damn fire and go home.” He breathed deeply between each sentence.  “Heatwave, I don’t want to talk to you.  Graham, make dinner and help Cody with his homework.  Boulder, Blades: I really don’t care.”  Kade slowly untangled himself, slumping into the seat.  He ignored the protests of the rest of the team.

“Will they be alright?” Chase asked, truly worried for the still unresponsive humans they had rescued.

“Who?  Griffin Rock Emergency?  They’re so sure they can do it on their own, let ‘em.”

That did answer one of Chase’s questions, but not the important one.  “I meant them, you?”  Chase slowed to a brisk, less jarring walk, as he entered the burnt-out area.

“Was trying not to think about that,” Kade confessed, his head lolling to the side until he could meet Chase’s eyes.  “They’re not going to make it.”

“Are you sure?”  Kade nodded listlessly, exhausted beyond description.  “Will you?”  Chase dreaded the answer.

Kade licked his lips before answer.  “I’ll be alright.”

“Your skin as red as the hikers’.”  Chase pointed out, trying to understand.

“Surface burns.”  Kade managed a smile.  “They hurt like hell, but they’ll heal.”

“Then why will these people not be alright?”

Kade’s eyes grew sad.  “They’re lungs are burnt.  I’ll be surprised if they make it to the hospital.”  Blinking drowsily, Kade looked at the sky.  “We should call, Dad.  This is really bad.  I really screwed up.”

“I do not understand.  You did everything you could.”  This was probably a very poor time for this conversation, but Chase needed to understand.

Kade smiled indolently.  “Chase… never change.”  The sadness came back, hitting Kade hard and heavy.  “If I had made the team listen to me, these people would have been fine.”

That was undoubtedly true.  “Arguing would have changed nothing.”  Chase wished he could better comfort the human.  “They chose their course and intended to keep it, regardless of what you said.”

“Thanks, Chase.”  He looked out the window, again, noticing the green grass and trees.  “Hey, why don’t you transform?”

“My tires are damaged.”

“Oh.  Good call.”  Kade’s fingers played over Chase’s door controls.  “I’ll help you change them when we get back.”

“Thank you, Kade.”

Kade was quiet for a very long time.  “I wonder what Dad’s going to do to me?” he asked, though not to Chase.  Chase strongly suspected that the Chief would attempt to comfort him, and that nothing would be comforting.


	3. Chapter 3

It was late when they pulled into the firehouse.  Kade wearily slid out of Chase.

“Kade?”

Couldn’t they have forgotten about him until morning?  “What are you doing up, Code?” Kade’s throat scorched from the inside and out, and it was audible.  “It’s a school night.”

The lights flicked on.  Kade blinked against the brightness.

“Kade!  You’re burnt.”  Cody rushed forward but stopped short when Kade held out his hands to prevent a hug.  “Aw, _Kade_.  Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“Because I was up to my eyeballs in humidified oxygen?”  Cody was in his pajamas and clearly past tired.  “It’s okay, Cody.  I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone.”  He sighed.  “I’m still not.”  At least the others weren’t here.

“Where have you been, hotshot?” Heatwave asked, either not seeing or not caring about Kade’s shiny, red skin.

“Filling out fatality paperwork!”  Kade was suddenly screaming, but he couldn’t help himself.  “WHERE WERE YOU?”  Kade hurled his gear at the firebot, ignoring the tight pull of his skin as it nearly ripped.

“Putting out the fire!” Heatwave growled defensively, the bundle bouncing harmlessly off his chasse.

“YEAH?  WELL, I DAMN WELL NEEDED YOU!” Kade howled, tears searing as they dripped down his face.  “TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD, HEATWAVE!”  He almost repeated it but choked instead.  “And it’s my fault.”  Kade collapsed into a pile on the garage floor.

“Dead?” Heatwave asked, optics flickering in confusion.  “What are you talking about?”

Kade didn’t answer, sobbing into the concrete in front of his knees.

Chase transformed, crouching protectively over the human.  “Heatwave?”  Chase paused, considering the options.  “Perhaps you should take Cody and retrieve Chief Burns.”

“That will not be necessary,” Doc Greene’s voice informed them.  “I have already retrieved him.  And a hypnotic device that should allow Kade to sleep.”

Something heavy dropped on the floor next to Kade.  “Son?”  His father crawled closer, wrapping his arms around Kade’s back and shoulders.  A large blister on Kade’s clavicle snagged and ripped away, pulling a surprised yelp of pain from the fireman.  “Oh, Kade, I’m so sorry.”  His father hastily pulled away, but Kade grabbed onto his forearm, both in defense and as a demand for comfort.  He curled over the limb, willing his father to come closer despite the unbearable heat.  He got fingers combing through his miraculously still present hair.  “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.  I love you so much.  I’ll always love you, no matter what.”  His father leaned away, raising his voice to a normal level.  “Doc, maybe those headphones, now?”

“But of course.”  It felt like someone ran a cheese grater over his ears, but seconds later Kade’s world went blissfully dark and blank.

———

“Chase?” the Chief asked, looking up from his son’s unconscious body.  “What happened?”

Chase recounted the tail in detail, sparing no indication of fault on the part of his fellow rescue bots or their human partners.  He maintained that this had not been Kade’s fault.  The Chief didn’t say anything when the story was through, he simply curled over his oldest son’s burnt back and cried.

“Chief?”  Doc crouched down, at a loss for comforting his friend.  He placed his hand on the man’s shoulder.  “Do you want me to call someone.”

Charlie took several deep breaths before straightening up.  “State Fire Investigators.”

“Not the county?”  Doc had never imagined his best friend bucking IA protocols.  He didn’t know what to do with the information.

The Chief shook his head.  “State’s supervisor for the region is a woman named Dottie.  She has a reputation for being impartial and making sure her investigators are thorough and fair.  Kade’s going to need all the fair he can get.”

“This wasn’t his fault.”

Charlie wiped his eyes with one hand.  “I know.  But it was his responsibility.  And the guy from county hates him.”

“Why don’t I help you two get to bed?  Then I’ll take care of everything.”

Fortunately, Chase was able to right the Chief and deposit Kade in his lap.  In the fireman’s room, Cody helped Doc slide Kade onto the bed.  To their surprise, Charlie pirouetted onto the mattress by his son’s side.  “I’ll sleep better here, tonight.  I don’t think Kade’s in any state to mind.”  Which was objectively true, if artificial.  “Cody, if you’d do me a favor in the morning and make sure Dani and Graham and the bots don’t sneak off?”

“Does that mean I get to skip school?”

“Only if you promise to keep Kade distracted while I lose my cool.”

“Yes, sir!” Cody saluted, and was possibly a little punch drunk.  “Is Kade going to be okay?” the teen asked with all seriousness.  When his father reluctantly nodded, Cody darted out of the room.

When he was sure Cody was safely in his room, Doc leaned down, kissing the Chief soundly.  Anna wouldn’t begrudge Charlie the comfort.  He and Charlie hadn’t had a romance since they were boys, but a certain level of physical comfort had been impossible to resist when they had found themselves lonely single fathers.  Doc could only imagine having to untangle the mess the Chief faced in the morning, nevermind alone.  He kissed Charlie again for fortitude.

“Thanks, Doc.”  He licked his lips and closed his eyes.  “For everything.”

“No problem,” Doc assured, but Charlie was already asleep.  “I’ll just see myself out.”


	4. Chapter 4

“You two should stay away from your brother for a while.”  Kade was still asleep, so Cody listened to his father from the hallway, ready to intercept the fireman should he wake.  “He already threw his boots at Heatwave.  Don’t think for a second I won’t let him have a go at you.”

“But, Dad,” Dani protested.  “We didn’t do anything.”

“No?”  Oh, that tone was dangerous.  “You just left him holding a bag with two bodies in it and no way to carry them.”  There was a silence where Cody imagined his siblings trying to puzzle out the otherwise obvious metaphor.  Suddenly his father bellowed, “DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU KNOW HOW TO FIGHT FIRES BETTER THAN KADE!?”

Cody wasn’t sure if it was mumbling denials or silence that came next.

“Hey, Code,” Kade stopped very near him, but didn’t touch, the burns rendering any contact untenable.  “Spanish inquisition?”

“Not for you.”  Cody looked up at him.  Kade’s eyes were bloodshot.  “Did you shower yet?” 

Kade pressed his lips tightly together and shook his head as their father’s voice broke the morning again.  “How _dare_ you treat any person, a member of _this family_ , as disposable!  Kade nearly suffocated because _you_ couldn’t be bothered!  Did you even listen to Chase, or do you really just HATE YOUR BROTHER?”

Cody looked up at Kade, concerned.  “Is that true?”

Kade shook his head.  “I don’t know.”  He sighed.  “Maybe.  The bots apparently thought we breathe nitrogen.  The low oxygen was obvious, but it took me a while to remember that ozone feels like mustard gas.”

“What did Dani say?”  Cody had had to go into town shortly after the rescue started to deal with a faulty traffic light and had forgotten his comm-badge.

“Something about airway burns, I think.”  Kade looked away.  “I don’t really remember.”

Cody’s stomach lurched.  “Isn’t that a death sentence?”

Kade winced, his eyes unexpectedly welling with tears.  “Usually.”  Kade swallowed, visibly willing back his emotions.  “It was for those hikers.  We were too far away.  Twice.”

“I DON’T CARE!” their father’s voice echoed.  “You trust me!  So, trust me when I put Kade in charge!”

“Oh, Kade.”  Cody wanted so badly to hug his brother.

Kade shook his head and turned away, hiding renewed pain.  “I’m gonna go take that shower now.”

“Want help?”  Cody offered.  He’d heard Chase’s story last night and really didn’t want to leave his brother alone.  “Your back looks really painful.”  Not as painful as his front, but Kade could reach that on his own.

Kade paused with his hand on the doorjamb.  “Actually, yeah.  That sounds good.”

Cody only hoped he could be gentle enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this one was short, but the next one is long...


	5. Chapter 5

One thoroughly excruciating, ice cold shower later, Kade pulled on a pair of soft pajama pants, leaving them almost dangerously low-slung.  He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, the abrupt end of his red burn just above his navel and then a wide stripe of pale skin above a pair of pants nearly falling off to prevent his waistband actually making it to his waist.  He picked up his phone, tossing it to Cody, who was still hovering anxiously.

“Here.  Grab a picture.  This will be funny when it stops hurting.”  His grin was stilted by the burn and he held his hands awkwardly away from his sides, scorched palms facing the camera.  Kade was a mess and he knew it, but when Cody handed him back the phone, he managed an aborted laugh.  There were slightly pinker stripes where his suspenders had provided slight protection, and nearly identical blisters where the strap adjusters had amplified the heat.  It really would be funny when it stopped hurting.

“Kade?”  Cody stepped closer.  “I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

“Why?”  Kade tried to read his brother’s mind, but it never worked.  Cody just thought differently.  “You didn’t do anything.”  The only thing Cody had done was wait up for him.  “You’re sixteen, I don’t actually care if you stay up late.”

“No.”  Cody waved away his ‘infraction’.  “I mean…”  He scrubbed his face briskly, then began again.  “I was _listening_.”  His eyes met Kade’s, soft and brown and brimming with guilt.  “If I had had any idea… that they weren’t guessing what you _actually_ wanted them to do, I’d have done…”  Cody’s lips pressed flat as he scrambled for _what_.  He finished with a conviction born of desperation, “– _something_.”

Kade didn’t know what the teen could have done, either.  “Cody…” Kade took a deep breath, then forged ahead with an absolution that might have been just a bit hasty.  “You know it doesn’t work like that.  Dani only listens when she wants to, and Graham listens to her first.”  Kade licked his lips precisely.  “It wouldn’t have made a difference.” 

Except it might have.  Cody had an inexplicable ability to coerce people.  Thank Primus he didn’t use his powers for evil.  Kade sat down on the bed, resisting the urge to pull a sheet over the false cold of his lobster shell burn.  He plucked helplessly at his blanket.  No, there was no use considering what ifs.  Cody hadn’t known, Kade had failed as a leader, and this pain wasn’t punishment enough.

“You don’t deserve this, Kade.”  You know, it really wasn’t fair for _Cody_ to be able to read _Kade’s_ mind, and not the other way around.  “You and Chase did what you could with what you had, and you both got hurt doing it.  This isn’t your fault.”

“Chase.  Slag, I forgot.”  Kade stood up, seizing onto the distraction like a vice.  He hesitated.  “Can you check if the coast is clear?  I…”  Like most people, Kade enjoyed seeing his siblings get theirs, but not today.  “I really don’t want to listen to that.”

Cody’s eyes went wide for a very brief moment, before his expression shifted to one of understanding.  “Yeah.  I’ll be right back.”  He jogged out the door.

Kade turned to the poster of the firefighter on the wall.  “Hey, Sparky.  Long time, no see.”  KaDe Burnside looked so much like Kade that when their red cards were deployed, command paired them together, allegedly so no one had to tell them apart.  They sounded and spoke very differently, and KaDe was _much_ smarter than Kade, but they’d become fast friends.  They quickly learned to answer to each other’s names, even after KaDe revealed he was nicknamed Sparky by his father, KC Burnside, whom he also closely resembled.

Kade picked up his phone, putting it on speaker.  It rang, rang, rang.  “ _Hey, you’ve reached KaDe Burnside.  Leave it at the beep_.”

“Hey, Sparky.  It’s Kade.  I… I… Well, you’ll see it on the news, soon, I guess.  I need someone to talk to, someone to tell me honestly how bad I screwed up.”  Kade carefully ended the call, already regretting it.  He looked back up at the poster everyone thought was him.  It was Sparky, goofing around during a photoshoot for one of those half-naked-for-charity calendars.  Kade’s fire attack school friends had giggle-snorted, pointed-and-laughed, and made such a ruckus when he held up the recruiting poster, that Kade had decided to hang it above his bed.  It still held a power to make him smile, especially when his family harassed him about it, but today he was just… wistful for his friends.

When Cody came back with the precise location of their father and siblings, Kade snuck down to the garage on the fire escape.  He slipped in through the back door, collecting gloves, new tires for Chase, and his tools.  Rolling the tires across the floor, Kade spoke quietly to the police car, but got no answer.  He didn’t know if Chase would sleep through the procedure, but Kade might not get another chance.  Keeping his touch as gentle as possible, Kade explained everything he did in case Chase woke up.

 The Perfect Pair played from his back pocket.  Kade hesitated but picked up the phone.

“ _Sorry, Bro_.”  Sparky’s voice said as soon as he pressed accept.  “ _What the heck happened?  I saw the report.  You’re better than that_.”

Something rigid inside Kade shattered.  He didn’t have to be good, or fair, or– or– _whatever_.  This was his doppelgänger, this was _Sparky_.  “Dani and Graham hate it when I’m in charge.  Usually they know what they’re doing, but we had a front coming in and the wind was running uphill.  So, they ignored me when I tried to tell them to do something different.  And I was in my dad’s ride, because he busted his leg and Barney is an idiot.”

“ _Oh, you’re qualified, aren’t you_?”  Sparky asked about his sudden jump to law enforcement.

“Yeah.”  Kade tightened a lug nut on the recharging police bot with undue force.  Fortunately, hand tight wasn’t exactly what he was going for.

“ _What’s he say?_ ”

“He’s my Dad.  What else would he say?”  Kade rested his head against a blue quarter panel. 

Sparky chuckled in his ear.  “ _Same shit my Dad would say, whilst simultaneously calling the arson investigators?_ ”  Sparky’s dad was the Fire Chief for Owl Tree, Kansas.

“Aw, man, I’ve been trying not to think about the fire investigators.  The guy from Ocean County tried to hit me with a pipe once.”

“ _Ooh, bad idea.  What happened?_ ”

“I took his pipe.”  Kade smirked at the memory.  There were many reasons he didn’t remind people he was actually the Lieutenant of Griffin Rock Police Department.  “Sucker weighed like fifteen pounds.”

Sparky laughed.  “ _Why didn’t you arrest him?_ ”

“I don’t know.”  Kade shrugged even through Sparky couldn’t see him.  “I won.  Wasn’t my jurisdiction, so probably just easier not to.”

“ _Well, let me see what I can do from over here._ ”  Kade could hear him moving, rummaging through Owl Tree’s dispatch desk as he prepared to hang up.

“That isn’t why I called you.”

“ _I know,_ ” Sparky said.  “ _I’m just going to take a walk down to the county office.”_ Oh, he was going to make a report in _person_.  _Yeesh_ , what had Kade gotten himself into?  “ _Hey, any idea what started the fire?_ ”

“No.”  Kade wiped away the smudges of brake dust left by the thin gloves he’d be wearing for the next few weeks.  “I’d have to put on a shirt to go outside.”  He looked out the window at the sunshine.  It looked warm, and he was cold, but the last thing he needed was a radiation.

“ _Kade?_ ” Sparky’s voice was unnervingly solemn.  “ _Why can’t you wear a shirt?_ ”

Any machismo died on Kade’s tongue.  “I got burnt.”

“ _To save those people?_ ”

Kade didn’t answer because he hadn’t saved anyone.

“ _Yeah, I wouldn’t convict you._ ”

The relief Kade had been hoping for when he called didn’t come.  He needed to talk about something else.  “Check this out.”  He forwarded the picture Cody had taken.

“ _Oh, **dude**.  You look **ridiculous**._”  A feeling of lightness seeped into Kade.  “ _Nice happy trail, but the way._ ”

“Perv.  It’s not like you have one, either.”  He grinned at the phone.  Standing up, he walked down to the bunker.  He hid himself in the old bathroom, away from the bots.  Kade curled up in the shower, knowing what was coming next.

Sparky spoke to someone.  “ _Howdy, Delores.  Can you get me forms DJ-9, FS-203, IA-47, GT-20 and 21, and the number for the Maine Fire Investigators Office_?”  He waited as Delores responded.  “ _Oh, alright…  Yeah…  After seeing this morning’s news and anticipating a criminal investigation, I feel compelled to reveal information told to me in confidence.  Lieutenant Kade Burns admitted being assaulted with a pipe by the Ocean County Fire Investigator.  I feel this information is relevant to the impartial investigations of his involvement in the double fatality on Griffin Rock.  Please contact me immediately.  Captain K. Burnside, Spinifex County Fire Department_.”  There was a long pause.  “ _Oh, hey Dad…  Yeah, this is Kade on the phone…  No, I don’t think he’s at fault…  Sure_.”

A new voice came on the line.  It sounded big, and burly, and like it would be jolly under different circumstances.  “ _I don’t know what happened, son, but Sparky’s judgement is good enough for me.  If you need anything just ask_.”  Kade heard an indistinct voice that must belong to Delores in the background.  “ _Someone from your state fire just called.  Hang on a second_.” 

Kade waited anxiously for two long minutes.

Sparky’s voice spoke next.  “ _She says that my report alone is not sufficient evidence for an investigation into that jerk, but it certainly warrants assigning a different investigator to your case_.”

Kade felt his cheeks burn and wasn’t sure if he was crying in relief.  “Thanks,” he choked out.

“ _She said she’s going to call you in, so we’re gonna hang up.  Good luck, Kade.  Call me after the interview_.”

“Thanks,” Kade said again, just before the line went dead.  He curled up tighter, ignoring the sound of one of the bots coming to check on him.  The phone rang in his hand.  “Hello?” Kade answered, trying to sound normal.

“ _Kade, it’s Dottie.  I just got a report you were assaulted by Hal Oates.  I need you to come in and make a statement.  I’ll take your statement about the fire at the same time_.”

Kade took a deep breath.  “Yeah, alright.  Any idea what to wear over a burn?”

Dottie thought for a moment.  “ _Silk_?” she suggested. 

Kade didn’t own any silk, but his brash ball jersey would probably be just as smooth and cool.  “I’ll see you in an hour.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

Kade texted Sparky as he stepped into the sun outside the state building that housed Dottie’s office.  _I’m still a free man_.  He couldn’t believe how well it had gone, especially when the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘I’m going to need you to lie for me.’  Dottie had been thunderstruck, and Kade had rushed to explain in her momentary lapse.  ‘Not about the fire.  There’s something else you need to know.’  He trusted Dottie to keep the bots’ secret, and he hadn’t been willing to lie about such an integral part of the situation: What idiot showed up to a fire without his firetruck?  Unless, of course, the firetruck was an alien that fought fires on its own.  And thought it new better than an experienced human fireman how to fight a forest fire, despite not having seen _trees_ before landing on earth.

What Heatwave had done had sounded even worse summed up in Dottie’s no-nonsense manner.

“Kade?”  Dottie stepped into his line of sight.  “Trust me.  We’ll get through this.”

Kade’s phone chimed and he looked down automatically.  Realizing it was rude even as he saw the picture on his screen, he couldn’t help staring; a plane ticket to Wichita.  He looked up at Dottie.  “I trust you.”  He licked his lips and swallowed, knowing his next question would sound suspicious.  “Am I allowed to leave the state?”

Dottie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  “Where are you going?”

“Kansas.  I know it’s bad timing, but…”  He met her gimlet gaze.  “I need to get away from my family for a while.”  Her face softened with pity, but not the insulting kind.  “I’ll be reachable.  I promise.  I just want to be physically away from this.”

Dottie nodded.  “What’s in Kansas?”

“A friend.”

“Is this the same friend that contacted me?”  She raised a brow knowingly, conspiratorial though with an edge.  His answer very much mattered.

“Yes.”  Kade showed her the picture of the plane ticket.  It was an AirTram out of Portland Jetport.  “That isn’t why I told him, but once I had, I knew what he was going to do.  I can give you his number, if you want.”

Dottie accepted the number of both Sparky’s cellphone and office.  “And how do you pronounce his name?”

“K - D, like the letters.”  Kade was tempted to show her a picture of the two of them, but under the circumstances, it would probably be more suspicious than funny.

“I’ll keep in touch.  Try not to worry too much.  I’ll make sure no one goes to jail for the mistakes of an underperforming robot.”  Dottie’s expression turned sharkish.  “Though, I imagine your siblings are going to be in for some heavy remediation while you’re away.” 

Nodding absently, Kade wondered what ‘remediation’ meant when said with that face.  Suddenly, Kade realized Dottie was gone.  When he refocused, she was walking briskly towards the parking lot.

Kade stopped her with a word.  “Thanks.”  She nodded with a smile and they parted ways. 

Kade worried the zipper of the backpack containing his copies of all the paperwork as he waited for the bus.  His mind was starkly blank.  It should probably worry him, but Kade really didn’t like to over think things.  Distantly, the wish that everything would just go back to normal drifted through.  Kade sighed, watching needles fall off a larch.  As long as there was water in the ocean and the sun in the sky, Griffin Rock would still be there when he got back.

It’s not like they needed him.

When the bus arrived, Kade briefly considered his lack of luggage.  He shrugged it off; rewearing clothes had never bothered Kade.  Hopefully, he wouldn’t need a jacket in Kansas.

 


	7. Chapter 7

“Kade’s not coming home,” Charlie said, as they sat down to dinner.  “I thought you all should know that.”  Silence answered him.  Cody gaped for several seconds, before darting away from the table.

He felt sick to his stomach but headed straight for the command center.  “Investigator Williams?” he asked, politely, leaning on the doorjamb.  She was a pretty woman even in uniform with her black hair pulled back.  She looked up, wide sable eyes inviting him to speak. 

“This wasn’t Kade’s fault.”  Cody begged, “You have to believe me.”

“I know.”  She sized him up.  “Cody, right?”  He nodded and sat down when she gestured to a nearby chair.  “A lot of bad things happened yesterday, but no one person is at fault.  I’m not going to punish your brother for something beyond his control.”

“Then why isn’t he coming home?” Cody knew he shouldn’t be so pushy, but he was really worried about Kade.  About his family.

The investigator smiled sadly.  “He went to stay with a friend in Kansas.  He left from my office.  Here.”  She typed something into her phone, then handed it to Cody.  He looked at her, confused.  What did this have to do with anything?  The phone chimed and a new message popped up on the screen.  It was from Kade. 

_Just grabbing a bite at a hole in the wall called Under the Overpass.  If you’re ever in Wichita, you should try it._

_Why?_

_Is something wrong?_

She took the phone back from Cody.  “Cody was worried about you,” she dictated as she typed.  She held the phone back out.

_Is he there?_

_Tell him to call me._

Cody immediately pulled out his phone, dialing his brother’s number.

“ _Hey, Code._ ”  Cody stood up leaving the room without noticing he hadn’t thanked Lieutenant Investigator Williams.  “ _Didn’t Dad tell you what’s going on?_ ”

“No.  He spent the whole afternoon with Investigator Williams — she’s really nice by the way — and then he sat down at dinner and said you weren’t coming back.”  Cody found himself on the roof.  He moved as far away from the landing pad as possible.  “You are coming home, aren’t you, Kade?”

“ _Yeah, Dottie’s great.”_ Kade sighed against the other end of the line.  _“Did Dad really not say anything else?”_

“No!”  Cody reeled himself in, squealing at Kade wouldn’t help the situation.  “He just said, ‘Kade’s not coming home, thought you ought to know.’  And then he just stared at Dani and Graham.  Well, maybe he said something else, but after a minute I kind of ran out.”  Kade laughed at him, but it was quiet and tired, and didn’t make Cody feel better.  “You _are_ coming home, right?”

“ _Of course, squirt_.”  That was a little better, but the tone was still wrong.  Kade’s voice got lower and louder, as if he had hunkered down with the phone.  “ _Did you eat anything?_ ”

“No.  What about you?  Is the food in Kansas any good?”

Cody could hear a tired smile in Kade’s voice.  “ _Well, nothing beats a fresh lobster roll, but Sparky was right about this place having the best barbecue ever.  For real, burnt ends are crazy good_.”

“ _Burnt_ ends?”  Cody knew _Kade_ would eat just about anything, but all of Kansas?

“ _Not as crispy as they sound._ ”  The wind blew, covering the next thing Kade said.  “— _chipmunks like the peanut shells.  Or maybe lost peanuts.  Take ‘em right out of your fingers_.”

Cody pictured his six-foot-tall brother crouched down handing found peanuts to a four-inch-tall chipmunk.  “Did you make a new friend?”

“ _His name is Darryl_.”

Cody snorted hard, giggling so wildly he nearly dropped his phone.  It really wasn’t that funny… so, why was he laughing so hard?

“ _Oh, look, it’s his brother Darryl._ ”  Cody knew that was a reference to something he wasn’t familiar with, unfortunately for his diaphragm, it was still funnier than warranted.  “ _Hey, hey, hey.  No stealing.  I’ve got more.  I’ve even got two hands._ ”

Cody’s breathing returned to normal as he listed to is brother chaperone an increasing number of chipmunks, all named Darryl.  As much as sibling rivalry was a hallmark of his relationship with his brother, Kade’s alone-voice always had a disproportionately calming effect on Cody.  Settling down behind the overhead siren, Cody closed his eyes and pretended he was sitting in the sun by a tree in Kansas feeding the Darryls.

 

\--

 

“You’re going to get a sunburn on top of all that if you stay out here much longer.”  Sparky smiled down at Kade, not offering a hand up that would only hurt.  “Ready to go?”

Kade scratched Darryl behind the ear.  “Think I should keep him?”  Darryl jumped onto Kade’s shoe when he stood up.

“Maybe.  If he’s really intent to follow you, I’ll let him in the truck.”  Darryl dashed around Sparky’s feet, then back to Kade.  “Always thought chipmunks spoke English.  Take off your shirt.”  Kade looked up from Darryl to see Sparky holding out a spray bottle.

“Is that the aqueous film forming aloe solution?”

“You bet.”  Giggling the bottle, Sparky motioned for Kade to hurry up and loose the shirt.  “It works, too.”

“Wicked.”  Kade wasted no time peeling off his jersey and gloves.

“Dude, that’s _so **bad**_.”  They grinned at each other.  “Close your eyes, suck in your lips, and hold your breath.”  Kade did so, spreading his fingers and holding his hands away from his body.  The spray was cool and felt _amazing_.  Sparky coated Kade thoroughly.  “Alright, you can breathe normally, but don’t move or open your eyes.  It gets really sticky before it dries.”

“How long is that?”

Sparky shushed him.  “A couple minutes.”

Kade heard gravel crunch and several women snicker.  “You’re taking pictures of me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, now shut up.”  Kade grinned at the overly serious tone, but quickly stopped when he felt the sticky pull of his face.  “Be glad it’s not pollen season, you’d be green.”

Wasn’t pollen yellow?  Eh, oh well.

A minute later, someone touched his stomach below the burn line, causing all the muscles to flinch tight, but the film didn’t pull.  “Yeah, you’re done.”

Kade opened his eyes and tugged on his shirt.  It hurt _much_ less now.  “How long does this stuff last?”

“A couple of hours.”

 _Totally_ worth it.  “I’m gonna have to steal me some of that there magic potion.”

Grinning and holding the bottle tauntingly, Sparky lead the way to his truck.  Darryl followed them.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun was setting.  Kade had barely moved since dinner, curled up with Darryl in the front seat of Sparky’s old green pickup.  They had spent the hours of after dinner sun driving through wheat fields that became corn fields that became wheat fields.  As they neared Owl Tree the sunlight turned golden, casting the fields of grain in bronze as far as the eye could see.  When they turned onto Basswood Creek Road, a long gravel track leading west onto the Burnside family farm, the sky was brilliantly pink with glowing orange clouds.

The house and barns were surrounded by old growth trees, lending precious shade to a place that didn’t have air conditioning.  Sparky parked between a Basswood and an Oak.  Two people came out of the house.  The blonde woman stayed on the porch and one of the largest men Kade had ever seen stalked towards the truck.

“Probably best if Darryl stays outside.  We’ve got pretty nice trees.”  Sparky opened the door, greeting his father with an enthusiastic hug.  While they caught up on the day, Kade attempted to open the door, but found he couldn’t move.  His skin was dangerously tight and hurt more than he remembered.  The burn film had broken down and Kade wished he’d never known relief.  Kade knew he could move, but the truck suddenly seemed like an excellent place to spend the night.

The door popped open, ripping Kade from his thoughts.  “Need a little help, son?”

Kade looked into the almost familiar face of KC Burnside and just couldn’t lie.  “Yes.  _Please_.”  Kade’s back screamed in protest of KC’s arm when the man picked him up and his arm burned anew pressed against a warm body.  In seconds it was over, but Kade found himself wavering on his feet as he panted.  Someone carefully lifted his shirt off and he was quickly sprayed down again.  The pain receded as the solution dried.

Kade opened his eyes to see Darryl looking up at him with an expression of tiny chipmunk concern.  “I’m okay, buddy.  See you tomorrow?”  The chipmunk dashed off.  An odd sound drew Kade’s attention and he straightened up to see KC smothering laughter with his hand; his cheeks were red around the dimples of his fingers.  Kade smiled sheepishly.  “It’s alright.  I can take it.”

KC dropped his hand, grinning and shaking his head.  He didn’t laugh nearly as much as Kade expected, apparently content with intermittent chuckles.

“It’s not you, son.  Sparky does the same thing.  Struck me funny.”  He ushered Kade into the house.

“Ma,” Sparky loped ahead of them.  “Do we have any pie left?  I think Kade could use a slice.”

“I’m fine, ma’am,” Kade assured her, stepping up onto the porch.

“He didn’t eat much,” Sparky said at almost the same time his mother said, “Nonsense.”

Plum pie was _delicious_ and Kade’s plate seemed to be self-filling.  Or maybe he was just tired and needed to pay attention to what was going on around him.  Kade looked at the few bites of plum pie on the plate and felt guilty.  A slender hand picked up the plate.

“Kade, honey,” Mrs. Burnside said gently.  “Why don’t you go on upstairs and take a shower?”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Kade carefully levered himself from his seat.

“Young man, my name is Winona.  Call me Winnie.”  She smiled at him in a way he barely remembered.  “And you better call K by his name, too.  None of this sir and ma’am nonsense.  You’re family.”

Blinking tiredly, Kade examined her just a little too long.  “Okay.”

“Goodnight, dear.”

“C’mon, Kade.”

Kade startled.  How long had Sparky been there?  “Goodnight, Winnie.  Thank you.”  He followed Sparky up the stairs.


	9. No Update.

Well, guys. Bad news: Last night I went to edit the next chapter and discovered that it, and at least another 30,000 words of this story have been lost. I was having problems saving in Word a few weeks ago and knew I had lost  _something_ , but I thought it was going to be just a few sections.  It still would have represented hours of work lost, but on the whole, not so bad.  Those sections are in fact all that remain.  My instinct is to rewrite what's been lost, but the task is daunting, to say the least.  I'm afraid I don't have much motivation at the moment, or much time.  I do intend to finish this, but consider it on hiatus for the foreseeable future.  Sorry.  - Cranes.

**Author's Note:**

> I have NOT given up on Break Baking and Other Disasters. This disaster just doesn't fit that storyline.


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